Three people have been killed in a car-bomb explosion in a north-eastern district of Damascus, several people were also injured, according to reports on Syrian state TV.

"A terrorist suicide bomber blew up a van in the east of Rukn
al-Din neighbourhood in Damascus and preliminary information
indicates there are martyrs and people wounded," state news
agency SANA reported.

The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights also reported that the bombing struck
near a military supply center, AFP said. According to their
preliminary information, military personnel were among the
casualties.

The pro-government al-Ikhbariya channel broadcast a video of the
aftermath showing a crater next to a road, about 2 by 2 meters.
There was no footage of the remains of a car bomb or of any of the
victims, Reuters reports.

A local resident told the news agency that the bombing shattered
the windows of nearby shops and houses, and clouds of smoke were
rising above the scene.

However, opposition activists said it was not immediately clear
whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or a mortar shell.

Earlier in the day, SANA reported at least one young girl was
killed in a “terrorist mortar attack” on a compound that
contained several schools in the Baramkeh district of the capital
Damascus.

A number of students and a teacher were wounded and a building
damaged when mortar shells landed on the schools, SANA news agency
reported.

Fighting between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels
has relocated closer to central Damascus in recent months. On
Monday rebels warned they plan missile strikes on government and
security sites in Damascus as a part of the campaign they called
"Operation Shaking the Fort".